TC@MWC: Hands-On With The HTC One X

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Ah yes, the One X. It’s been shrouded by rumors and half-truths for so long now that it’s quite a thrill to get one in my hands.

While I like the One S’s build quality quite a bit, I found myself taking a shine to the One X’s industrial design almost immediately. It’s 9.7mm waistline is remarkably thin considering all that HTC managed to jam into it (Tegra 3 chipset, 1GB of RAM, killer camera, etc.), and the use of multiple materials adds a welcome bit of sensory contrast. The device’s back is made of a solid polycarbonate shell that becomes glossier along the device’s edges, while a glass plate stretches nearly from edge to edge on the One X’s face.

Though I’m sure many more will enjoy the One S’s slim metallic frame, there’s just something very alluring about the way the One X has been put together. Strange as it sounds, it’s a sort of visceral feeling that I haven’t felt since I first laid eyes on the iPhone 4. Kudos to HTC’s design team for this one.

Of course, you’d be hard-pressed to look at a One X and not comment on the screen. I was worried that the 4.7-inch display would make the One X feel too unwieldy, but I was pleasantly surprised how well the phone fit in my hand. Maybe you could chalk it up to my near-constant use of a Galaxy Nexus, but the One X was remarkably comfortable to hold. And speaking of the display, the One X’s Super LCD 2 panel looked absolutely gorgeous. I thought the One S’s display was solid, but this thing is really worth taking a look at.

I won’t go into the Sense 4.0 bits too much since I explored my feelings in my One S hands-on, but suffice it to say that isn’t the same headache-inducing Sense that some users have struggled with in recent years. Rather than swap the UI for a custom launcher as I usually do, I feel like I could get by with (and possibly even enjoy) Sense 4.0 just fine.

As far as performance goes, I once again couldn’t notice any slowdown while perusing through menus, playing with widgets, and firing up apps. The only hiccup I noticed was a bit of an odd stutter when trying to open HTC’s classic Teeter app, and I’m not entirely sure what to blame it on. Still, the issue cleared up very quickly, so only the most ardent Teeter fans have cause to worry for now.

I’ve long been a fan of HTC phones, especially when it comes to their build quality. That said, the One X brings something new to the table, something HTC has been sorely lacking these past few years: sex appeal. The One X is a gorgeous phone, just as a flagship should be. I’ve haven’t had the chance to play with the One V yet so I can’t say anything conclusively, but HTC should be awfully proud of the work they did with the One series.

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Crunchbase

OverviewHTC Corp is engaged in the design, development, and manufacture of smartphones and tablets in Taiwan.
The company offers PDA phones and smartphones for mobile operators and distributors in Europe, the United States, and Asia. These machines are available as HTC devices and as products individually customized for operators and device partners. The company provides its own HTC self-branded products …